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Stolen truck returned thanks to Facebook

Posted at 11:31 PM, Jan 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-01 14:13:19-05
A valley family had their truck stolen right out of their driveway. But thanks to Facebook, they got it back three hours later.
 
Steve "Slim" and JamieLynn Ritchie walked outside to bring their daughter to a volleyball game when they realized, the truck they would normally take, was missing from their driveway.
 
"Where's my truck?" asked Slim Ritchie. "Sometimes I park in the street, so we looked in the street and it was not there and I was like great, somebody stole my truck."
 
It was stolen right from the Ritchies' driveway near East Windmill Lane and the 215 Beltway. But only hours later it was returned.
 
"Just before 2 p.m., I had a picture that was messaged to me that said hey is this your truck?" said JamieLynn Ritchie. "And I looked at the picture and I was like 'Oh my goodness! This is it! This is our truck!'"
 
Posting to Facebook was JamieLynn's idea. Her husband, Slim, didn't think it would work.
 
"I didn't even think about Facebook," he said.
 
"He actually kind of made fun of me," said JamieLynn. "He's like honey, come on, there's no chance we're getting it and I was like I know!"
 
The post received 182 shares. One person who saw the post was a friend of a friend of the Ritchies. She was riding in the passenger seat of her car as her husband drove the two of them to Red Rock hotel-casino to go bowling. The woman was scrolling through Facebook when she came upon the picture. Seconds later, the couple parked in the Red Rock garage and noticed the same exact truck right before their eyes.
 
The couple called police. But as they waited for police to arrive, four teens hopped into the truck and drove away.
 
The couple followed them 25 miles to Henderson where police officers met them.
 
The four boys got out of the car and were arrested at gunpoint.
 
"I like to think it's karma," said Ritchie. "I do right by people and expect people to do right by me."